Refrigerating apparatus



Aug. 17, 1937. R. s. GAUGLER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1935 g a E Patented Aug. 17, 1937 PATENT OFFICE 2,089,953 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Richard S. Gaugler, Dayton,

General Motors Corporation, Dayton,

Ohio, assignor to Ohio,

a corporation of Delaware Application February 28, 1935, Serial No. 8,657

5 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration.

An object of this invention is to provide a simplified and improved method and apparatus for maintaining the air in a refrigerator at the 5 proper relative humidity.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the in present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical cross sectional view, partly diagrammatic, of an embodiment of my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a cross section transverse to Fig. 1 of a portion of the apparatus.

This invention may be applied to refrigerated spaces. In this particular embodiment, the means forming the refrigerated space may take the form of a cabinet generally indicated at i 20 m which a cooling unit In is placed. The cooling means or unit may be of any suitable form.

For example, it may include a primary evaporator I 2 into which liquid refrigerant is discharged from the pipe l3 through an expansion device M, for example, in the form of a capillary tube or the like. The expanded refrigerant returns through the line I5 to the refrigerant liquefying unit It which may take the form of a compressor l1, con- 30 denser I 8and receiver l9 connected to pipe l3.

The compressor may be driven by an electric motor 20. The operation of the motor may be controlled in accordance with conditions in the apparatus, and, for example, it may be controlled by a thermostatic bulb 2| placed in the space to be refrigerated, which bulb operates the snap switch 22 which starts and stops the motor 20.

The primary evaporator l2 may be the usual 40 relatively small evaporator which is now commonly placed in household cabinets, and which is maintained at a relatively low temperature, sufficiently low to freeze water and desserts in the trays 23 placed in the freezing zone of the evap- 45 orator. Such an evaporator, if its outer surfaces are exposed to the air of the cabinet, tends to freeze moisture out of the air, and in order to overcome this undesirable property, I provide means for increasing the air cooling area and at 50 the same time raise the temperature of the air cooling area. Such means may take the form of a secondary refrigerant hollow sleeve 24 having a horizontal tubular portion 25 adapted to flt around the primary evaporator l2 and which is also 55 provided with a depending extension 26. Liquid volatile refrigerant 21 is placed in the hollow portion of this sleeve to the level indicated at 2111, and the necessary heat transfer portions 28 tend to cool the inner lining 29 of the secondary evaporator only sufliciently to maintain the air cool- 5 ing surfaces of the secondary evaporator above 32 F. If desired, an inert gas may be introduced into the hollow sleeve 24 which insures proper temperature differential between the primary and secondary evaporators, in which case the heat transfer portions 28 may be increased in capacity. Refrigerant vapor from the liquid 21 condenses in the vapor space 25 and returns to the liquid 21. Thus, a heat transfer is provided between the secondaryand the primary evaporators which 15 tends to increase the air cooling area and the temperature of the area to a point above 32 F. Thus, moisture may be condensed from the air of space it] on the surface of the secondary evaporator, but such condensed moisture, being in n liquid form, trickles to the lower portion of the evaporator either directly into the tray 3! or into trough and thence into tray 3i. While I have described how my invention may be applied to a refrigerator which did not originally embody the invention, it is to be understood that theinvention may be applied directly to the refrigerator when manufactured, and that many of the features used in adapting the invention to a previously built refrigerator may be omitted when applying the invention during the manufacture of the refrigerator.

Means are provided for clarifying, purifying, sterilizing this condensed moisture and for reintroducing it into the air. Thus, the tray 3i is provided with a clarifying and purifying material 32, for example made of activated charcoal, so that the condensed moisture in passing to the spray device 33 must, pass through the activated charcoal 32. The sterilizing means may 40 take the form of silver electrodes 34 and 35 which dip into the water and which are energized by a relatively low voltage current, thereby introducing silver ions into the liquid which sterilizes the same. Any suitable source of current may be used to energize the electrodes. For example, a transformer 36 and a rectifier 31 may furnish unidirectional current of about 2 volts across the electrodes. The means for reintroducing the condensed moisture into the air may be of any suitable type such as spraying device 33. For example, a cone 38 may be driven by a motor 39 so that liquid is thrown against a circular baffle 40 and thus introduces a fine mist into the air in the space ID. The motor 39 may be energized from the common source of electricity ll as indicated.

42a, into an evaporating cup 43 provided with electrodes 44. When water overflows into the cup 43 and rises sufficiently high to bridge the electrodes, a current is setup which heats the water and vaporizes the same, the vapor leaving through the openings 45. The drain 42a may 'be the one commonly provided for defrosting, or may be added specifically for the purpose of this invention.

By the apparatus shown, the temperature of the air cooling surf-aces is increased sufficiently to permit flow of condensed moisture to the purifying device which is then capable of reintroducing the moisture into the air, thus reducing the dehydration of articles in the cabinet.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows: u

1. A refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, a compartment to be cooled, a cooling element in heat exchange relation with air in said compartment for creating a circulation thereof in the compartment, said cooling element being adapted to condense moisture thereon and to have water dripping therefrom whereby the circulating air is dehumidified, means: for

collecting the drip water from said cooling element, means for sterilizing the collected water to destroy bacteria and/or germs, means for removing impurities from the collected and sterilized water, and means for causing the sterilized and purified Water to be evaporated into the air within said compartment to rehumidify same.

2. A refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination, a compartment to be cooled, a. cooling element in heat exchange relation with air in said compartment for creating a circulation thereof in the compartment, said cooling element being adapted to condense moisture there- 'on and to have water dripping therefrom whereby the circulating air is dehumidified, means for collectingthe drip water from said cooling ele-- ment, means for sterilizing the collected water to destroy bacteria and/or germs, means for removing impurities from the collected and sterilized water, means for causing the sterilized and purified water to be evaporated into the air within said compartment to rehumidify same, and means for evaporating excess water to atmosphere outside said compartment.

3. The method of conditioning air within an enclosure which consists in, treating the air to withdraw moisture therefrom to thereby dehumidify same, collecting water from the air treating means and sterilizing same, then removing impurities from the sterilized water, and then exposing the sterilized purified water to air within the enclosure to evaporate a portion thereof into the air to rehumidify same.

4. The method of conditioning air within an enclosure which consists in, treating the air to Withdraw moisture therefrom to thereby dehumidify same, collecting water from the air treating means and sterilizing same, then removing impurities from the sterilized water, then exposing the sterilized purified water to air within the enclosure to evaporate a portion thereof into the air to rehumidify same, and evaporating ex- H 

